Teacher's computer held porn images of children

A CHILDREN'S music teacher who downloaded more than 130 child porn pictures has walked free from court. James Hellier, 56, led police to his Bolton home by using a credit card to pay for images on websites.

A CHILDREN'S music teacher who downloaded more than 130 child porn pictures has walked free from court.

James Hellier, 56, led police to his Bolton home by using a credit card to pay for images on websites.

But Mr Hellier, who is due to undergo major heart surgery in January, retained his freedom after pleading guilty to 16 separate counts because the pictures involved were deemed to be "Level One" - the least serious in a range of between one to five.

The court was also told that the 131 images he downloaded was regarded as a "modest" number in terms of such cases, where figures often ran into the thousands.

Sentencing him to a three-year community order, His Honour Judge Clayson told him he was also taking into account his previous good character and his poor health.

The judge ordered that he should take part in a sexual offenders' programme and that he should be subject to a sexual offenders' prevention order to stop him from being in the company of youngsters under 16 without a parent being present.

Mark Smith, prosecuting, told Bolton Crown Court that Hellier, who taught youngsters to play the saxophone in his spare time, had been arrested at his home in Temple Road, Bolton, after being trapped using his credit card to pay for downloading indecent pictures. As part of GMP's Operation Baglan, officers seized his computer and the offending pictures were found stored on the machine.

Mr Hellier's main job was as an electrical engineer at Salford University.

Miss Nicola Gatow, defending, said it was his first conviction and stressed that the period over which he downloaded the photographs had been one of just two days.

She said he had been feeling lonely and depressed after his marriage had broken down. She said: "This is a man educated to degree level. He does not accept that this is an addiction, but accepts it is something he might turn to when lonely or troubled."

Judge Clayson told him: "To a certain extent you accept your wrong doing and are keen to make sure it doesn't happen again.

"You can see now why these are serious and criminal offences and there is much to be done to ensure you don't offend again."

He told him he was convinced that a long community order would achieve more than a custodial sentence and he warned him that taking part in the sex offenders' programme was no soft option.

"It is a very demanding programme designed specifically for people like yourself," he said, "and it seems to me that if you comply and make the best of it, there is a good prospect you won't offend again."